Out Of The Box

So comic con is over for another year! For those of us not able to be in San Diego due to the existence of that pesky ocean, sifting through all the news and announcements can be tough. Here are some things I have noticed.

- There were demos available for both Dragon Age II and some new Origins DLC. The former - like everything to do with the sequel - has caused much debate and nerdrage. While I've heard a couple of things I don't like the sound of, on the whole I am looking forward to the next installment. I'm itching to hear more about the DLC, which apparently contains an import function for the Warden.

- Not much Transformers news, as they were already at Botcon. I want Generations Red Alert the most.

- Hasbro's Marvel 3.75" line continues to look awesome into 2011. I'm most excited about the Jim Lee era Cyclops, even though I am going to end up with way too many Cyclops (Cyclopsi?). But as someone who got into X-Men through the nineties cartoon, that's always been the definitive Scott Summers look for me. I am also pleased to see the giant Sentinels in two different colour schemes! Still waiting impatiently for a bunch of characters, but I guess it will all come in time. (But where is Beast? And Professor X? And Scarlet Witch? And Doctor Strange? And ...)

- In other interesting news, Hasbro announced that the 6" Marvel Legends will be back in 2012. They botched the first wave badly when they took over the license (that Emma Frost sculpt was truly awful) but the figures have improved since then, so I look forward to this with cautious interest.

- With GI Joe, I was pleased to see some images from the new Renegades cartoon. Apparently Snake-Eyes has a motorcycle. Liking the character designs, but these panels never reveal the really important stuff, like: is there going to be Duke/Scarlett 'shipping in this like there was in Resolute? Because if so I will be seriously annoyed. And it's not because of my devotion to Scarlett/Snake-Eyes. Scarlett/Rip-Cord or anything else would be fine with me - I just really really don't like Duke and don't want him anywhere near my favourite lady Joe. Come to think of it Duke/Baroness like in the movie would be even worse. Eeeew.

- In other Renegades news, it still seems weird to me every time a new Doctor Mindbender shows up wearing a shirt.

- DC Universe Classics announced Wave 16, with a new spandex-clad Riddler the only figure I'm personally interested in. On the one hand, he's overly buff, but on the other, you can't really go wrong with question mark spandex. Also, I never did manage get around to buying the Wave 5 version on eBay. (The figures are only distributed locally in specialty shops most of the time, so no Walmart exclusives for us.) There will also be a giant box of Legion of Superheroes figures, which is great for people interested in those and for those of us who aren't. Not putting all those Legion guys into the regular line leaves more room for other things.

- Justice League Unlimited continues to have astonishing longevity for a show-related line whose show has been gone for years. (Details in that same link above.) Over a dozen new figures were announced, including Ted Kord! Some nice looking stuff there, and I'm thrilled that we're finally getting Toyman and Killer Frost.

- The big non-news was that they had nothing to announce about the Infinite Heroes line. I own a few of these, but I can't say I'm that disappointed. Compared to Hasbro's 3.75" lines, they are just ... not fun. Maybe they should put Infinite Heroes out of its misery and put the effort into a range that actually works.

Apparently the answer to this eternal question is 'making me buy computer games ... twice.'

Transformers: War for Cyberton was released a few days ago, and the reviews I've seen so far have been positive. Unfortunately, I have a Trypticon-sized dilemma. The game has been released across all platforms overseas, but for some bizarre reason the PC version is not being sold in Australia. Nobody seems to know why. Now, I could import it from a saner country, except that there would be some benefit to getting the Nintendo DS version instead. It's split across two cartridges, but it's available locally and the Deception one contains Cyclonus, one of my favourite characters. On the other hand, the game would be much prettier on my 19-inch PC monitor.

The DS version also lacks online multiplayer, which could be a blessing in disguise as I'm likely to get pwned to a humiliating degree if I ever go near another human player. I don't normally play shooters at all, but for this game I'm willing to make an exception. Really, which Transformers fangirl hasn't fantasized about being a Seeker and shagging Starscream watching Megatron shag Starscream fragging Autobots?

My current plan is to hold out for another week or so to see how the reviews of the DS port are, and if any of my local game shops get a PC copy in. I'll probably end up getting the Decepticon DS version now and waiting for the PC version until it ends up in the bargain bin.

I'm also digging War for Cybertron because it's leading to toys I want to buy appearing on shelves again. I got a few RotF toys, but I've been missing Animated terribly, and from what we've seen already it looks like this could fill the void for me. Soundwave is sex on a stick to the point where I don't mind that he turns into a car thingie instead of a lamp post. I suspect I'll end up getting Bumblebee; he's pretty cute although I'm not the biggest fan of the character usually. I'm not sold on Optimus Prime, though - the alt mode is meh and it's just not right when Prime is Deluxe class. He should not be the same size as 'Bee.

Weirdly, Megatron is the same as well, and it doesn't bother me. But then, I'm not bothered by Classics Galvatron's size class either. They both have enormous guns, and that's what matters. Just ask Starscream.